Permutation-lock for milk-cans.



V S.PETBR. PBBMUTATION LOOK FOR MILK CANS. APPLIOATIOH FILED KAY 21, 1910. 992,587, Patented May16,,1911.

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S.PETER. PBBMUTATION LOOK FOR MILK CANS. APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 19 10.

* Patented May 16, 1911.

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STEPHEN PETER, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

PERMUTATION LOCK FOR MILK-CANS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1911.

Application filed May 21, 1910. Serial No. 562,749.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN PETER, a

citizen of the United States of America,

residing at Omaha, in the count-y of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Permutation-Locks for Milk-Cans, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to permutation locks for milk cans" and has for its object to provide a lock of such class in the manner as hereinafter set forth and which will require considerable skill to successfully manipulate and open the can or article in connection with which it is used, the lock consisting of parts easily assembled and maintained in operable condition. These and such other objects as may hereinafter appear are attained by thenovel construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter specifically described and then claimed.

Reference will now be had to the drawing forming part of this specification, wherein there is illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention, but it is to be understood that the structural elements thereof can be varied or changed, as to the size, shape, and manner of assemblage without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a milk can showing the adaptation therewith of a permutation lock in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a hori- Zontal sectional view taken on the line IIIIII of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the can showing the permutation lock partly in elevation and partly in section. Fig. 4c is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the permutation lock detached, in a locked or closed position'and designed to be opened by the use of numerals. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the lock in an open or unlocked position. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the detached lock body, showing the outer side thereof, and Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the inner side.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a milk can comprising a cylindrical shell 1 and suitably connected to the lower edges of said shell is a bottom plate 2. Secured to the bottom plate 2 are a plurality of equally spaced caster brackets 3, preferably three in number, and connecting the 7 vertical sides of said brackets is a band or ring 4:. The brackets 3 extend upwardly from the sides of the can and extending upwardly through said brackets are the cylindrical shanks 5 of bearings 6 revolubly supporting the rollers or wheels 7 adapted to facilitate the movement of a large milk can upon a surface. Mounted upon the upper end of the shanks 5 are washers 8 and interposed between said washers and the brackets 3 are coiled compression springs 9, these springs encircling the shanks 5, which are provided with transverse pins 10 to re tain the washers 8 thereon.

The upper edges of the shell 1 are provided witha bonnet or breast piece 11 sup- -porting a cylindrical neck 12 and adapted to fit within said neck is a mushroom-shaped lid 13 having a suitable handle 14. The wall 15 of the lid 13 is provided with a vertical slot 16 adapted to receive a vertical rib 17, carried by the inner side of the neck 12, said rib correctly positioning the lid within the neck. 7 7

The shell 1, the breast piece 11 and neck 12 are provided with three equally spaced vertical channel-shaped shells 18, 19, and 20, these shells having the vertical edges thereof provided with flanges 21 adapted to be riveted or otherwise connected to the can, as at 22, said shells'having the upper ends thereof shaped to conform to the bonnet piece 11 and the neck 12, as best shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The upper ends of the shells 18 to 20 inclusive are closed, as at 23, while the lower ends thereof are closed by the caster brackets 3. In the shell 20 is mounted a piece of material or blank block body 24, preferably made of wood and having the lower end thereof cut away, to provide clearance for the shank 5 of the easter beneath said shell. The contents of the shell 19 constitute a secret lock, which can only be opened by pulling downwardly upon the caster beneath said casing, but this device forms no part of the present invention, and may be omitted if desired.

In the shell 18 is located a lock body 37 shaped to fit within said shell. The lower end of the body 37 has the inner side thereof cut away, as at 38, to provide clearance for the caster beneath said shell, and the inner side is also provided with transverse grooves 39 to provide clearance for they reamed or beaded edge 40 at the juncture of the shell 1 and the bottom plate 2. The central part of the body 37 is provided with a vertical slot 40 and the upper end thereof is bifurcated, as at 41, thus leaving a web 42 that is triangular shaped in cross section with the outer curved side thereof grooved, as at 43. The inner side of the body 37 at the upper end of the slot 40 is provided with transverse grooves 43 providing clearance for the reamed and beaded edge 44 at the juncture of the bonnet piece 11 and the shell 1.

In the bifurcated end 41 of the body 37 is mounted a casing 45. In the casing 45 is pivotally mounted a spring-pressed pawl 46 having a tooth 47 adapted to extend through openings 48 and 49 provided therefor in the neck 12 and the wall 15 of the lid 13 respectively. Attached to the upper end of the spring-pressed pawl 46 is a cable 50, said cable extending downwardly through the groove 43 of the web 42.

In the slot 40 of the lock body 37 are mounted three members 51, 52, and 53, and interposed between the members 51 and 52 is a slide 54. This slide extends above the members 51 and 52 and is encircled by a coiled compression spring 55 mounted be tween the upper ends of the members 51 and 52 and the transverse pin 56, carried by the upper end of said slide. This slide has the upper end thereof provided with an aperture and connected to said slide through the medium of said aperture is the lower end of the cable 50. The members 51, 52, and 53 are connected by side straps 58, these straps being secured to the members 51 and 53 by screws 59, while bolts or rivets 60 extend through the side walls of the shell 18, the lock body 37, the straps 58, and the member 52, thereby securing all three of said members within the lock body 37 and said lock body within the shell.

The members 51 to 53 inclusive are of a less width than the slot 40 of the member 37, and the rear side of the member 51 is provided with recesses 61 and with longitudinal openings 62 and 63. The recesses 61 are in communication with the front side of the member 51 through the medium of longitudinal openings 64. The front side of the member 52 is provided with recesses 65 and 66, the recesses 65 communicating with the rear side of the member 52 through the medium of longitudinal openings 67, while the recesses 66 communicate with the rear side of the member 52 through the medium of longitudinal openings 68. The slide 54 is provided with openings 69 adapted to establish communication between the openings 64 of the member 51 and the openings 67 of the member 52, also with openings 70 adapted to establish communication between the openings 62 of the member 51 and the openings 68 of the member The rear side of the member 53 is recessed, as at 71, and the front side thereof is recessed, as at 72. Rotatably mounted in the member 53 at the recesses 71 and 72 are screws 73 and 74. Attached to the inner reduced ends of the screws 73 by cotter pins 75 are yokes 76, these yokes embracing the sides of the members 51 and 52 and in one position (locked) extending into the recesses 61 and 71, while in another position (unlocked) extending into the recesses 61 and 65. That portion of a yoke 76 within a recess 61 is provided with a pin' 77 adapted to extend through an opening 64 of the member 51 and an opening 69 of the slide 54 into an opening 67 of the member The pins 75 rotatably hold the reduced plain inner ends of the screws 73 in engagement with the yokes 76, whereby when said screws are rotated, the yokes 76 will be shifted to move the pins 77 into or out of the openings 69 of the slide 54.

Attached to the inner ends of the screws 74 are pins 78, said pins adjacent to the ends of the screws being provided with transverse pins 79 adapted to limit the inward movement of the pins 78. The pins 78 are adapted to extend through the openings 68 of the member 52, openings 70 of the slide 54 into the openings 62 of the member 51, these pins in conjunction with the pins 77 positively locking the slide 54 between the members 51 and 52 and preventing the same from being shifted.

The lower end of the slide 54 is provided with a head 80 having a longitudinal opening 81 formed therein the walls of which are threaded. This opening is adapted to longitudinally aline, when the slide is in a locked position, with the opening 63 formed in the depending portion 82 of the member 51, and rotatably mounted in the opening 81 is a screw 83 adapted to ext-end into the opening 63. This screw is provided with a reduced portion 84 and a head 85, said reduced portion extending through a stirrup 86 connected to the lower end of the member 53 by screw bolts 87 and nuts 88. The collar 89 of the screw head limits the inward movement of the screw 83, and with the screw moved out of the opening 63, the lowering movement of the slide 54 and the screw carried by the head 80 thereof is limited by the stirrup 86. The screws 73 and 74 are provided with heads 90 similar to the head 85 of the screw 83, and the heads of the screws 90 have the outer sides thereof provided with indications, as the characters of the alphabet, shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

The outer side of the shell 18 is provided with vertical guides 91 and adapted to slide into said guides is a housing 92 to inclose the heads 90 and 85 of the screws 73, 74,

and 83, this housinghaving the lower end thereof opened, as at 92, and the upper end thereof closed, as at 93. The shell 1 of the milk can is provided with a suitable handle 94, whereby the can can be easily carried. The outer side of the shell 18 is provided with suitable openings for the screws 73 and 7 4 and with the slot for the collar 89 of the screw 83, these openings being designated 95 and 96 respectively.

Assuming that the lid 13 is locked upon the can by the lock being in the position shown in Fig. 4, it is necessary to remove the housing 92 which is employed to protect the heads 90 and 85 of the screws while the can is being transported. After the housing is removed it is necessary that the permutation lock be unlocked, and this is accomplished by first rotating the screws 73 and 74. It is furthermore necessary that a person must be familiar with just what screws to rotate and in just what direction. The screws 7 3 must be rotated to shift the yokes 7 6 inwardly and to remove the pins 7 7 from the openings 69 of the slide 54. The screws 74 must be rotated to move the pins 7 8 outwardly from the openings 70 of the slide 54, it being necessary in this instance that all of said pins be rotated. After the screws 73 and 74 have been properly adjusted, the screw 83 is adjusted, whereby it will be free of the opening 63 and the slide 54 can be lowered together with said screw. After the slide has been lowered, the screw 83 can again be adjusted whereby the end thereof will engage under the depending portion 82 of the member 51 and hold said slide in a lowered position, with the spring 55 under tension. When the slide 54 is lowered the cable 50 is pulled upon and the tooth 47 of the pawl 46 is shifted out of the openings 48 and 49. The lid may now be removed by operating the secret lock as above described. When the lid 13 is replaced upon the can, the secret lock immediatelyholds the same in a closed position, and by adjusting the screw 83, the slide 54 can be released and restored to its normal position by the spring 55, while the pawl 46 is restored to its normal position by the-spring bearing against said pawl. The screws 7 3 and 74 are then adjusted to move the pins 7 7 and 7 8 into the openings of the slide 54, whereby the slide will again be locked in a closed position.

The locking'mech'anism shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings is preferably operated by numbers, that is, those familiar with the lock, remembering the necessary operation in connection with certain screws that are numbered. For instance, it is necessary that four of the screws be adjusted. inone direction and five in another.

In connection with the locking mechanism shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, it is preferable to provide the heads 90 of the screws with characters of the alphabet and to remember just what screws are to be adjusted to open and close the lock by remembering some name. For instance the mechanism shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings can be adjusted by the name of Doe, and in this particular instance, the screw 74 having the head 90 thereof provided with the letter D is screwed inwardly to lock the slide 54, while the screw 7 3 having the head 90 thereof provided with the reference character O is screwed outwardly to lock the slide, and as the reference character E is carried by the same screw head, as that carrying the reference character D it is only necessary to manipulate two screws to lock and unlock the mechanism. After the slide has been locked, should the locking mechanism or the other screws than those designated D and O be tampered with, it is necessary that a person familiar with the operation of the other screws be called upon to further manipulate the lock.

It is practically impossible for the permut-ation lockto be picked, and as the opening of the permutation lock by an unskilled person would require considerable time, and therefore it would be impossible for the can to be opened during the time of transportation.

What I claim, is:

1. A look comprising a casing, a lock body arranged therein, a spring controlled locking element mounted in said lock body, a cable connected to the locking element, a spring controlled longitudinally shiftable slide constructed when moved against the tension of its spring to actuate said cable to move said locking element to releasing position, means for moving said slide, a plurality of longitudinally disposed supporting members connected with said slide and mounted in the lock body, said slide being disposed between two of said members, and

means carried by said members and con structed to engage said slide to prevent movement thereof.

2. A look comprising a casing, and a locking element arranged therein, supports within the casing, a longitudinally movable slide connected with said supports, an operative connection between the slide and said element for moving the latter to releasing position when the slide is shifted in one direction, arresting devices carried by the supports and movable inwardly and outwardly, certain of said devices engaging the supports to prevent or permit the shifting of said slide after the arresters have been moved to inoperative position with respect to the slide.

3. A lock comprising a spring controlled locking element, a shiftable slide operatively connected with said element for moving it'to releasing position when the slide is shifted, in one direction, supports arranged in operative relation with respect to the slide, inwardly and outwardly mov able yokes carried by the supports and provided with pins adapted to engage the slide to arrest the movement thereof, and shiftable pins carried by the supports and adapted to engage the slide to arrest the movementthereof, and means carried by the lower end of the slide for moving the latter, said means being adapted to cooperate with one ofthe supports for locking the slide against movement.

4. A lock comprising a spring controlled locking element, a shiftable slide operatively connected with said element for moving it to releasing position when the slide is shifted in one direction, supports ar ranged in operative relation with respect to the slide, inwardly and outwardly movable yokes carried by the supports and provided -with pins adapted to engage the slide to arrest the movement thereof, shiftable pins carried by the supports and adapted to engage the slide to arrest the movement thereof, means carried by the lower end of the slide for moving the latter, said means being adapted to cooperate with one of the supports for locking the slide against movement, means whereby the yokes are shifted for moving the pins carried thereby to inoperative position, means whereby the shiftable pins are moved to inoperative position, means for releasing the means for moving he slide to permit of the shifting of the slide to release the locking element after all of the pins have been moved to inoperative position, and means for limiting the shifting movement of the slide when moving the locking element to inoperative position.

5. A lock comprising a casing, a lock body mounted in said casing, a slide movable in said body, a locking element operatively connected with said slide and adapted to be moved to releasing position by said slide when the latter is shifted in one direction,

means for shifting said slide, pins adapted to extend through the slide for locking it in a fixed position, screws for operating said pins, and supporting means for the pins and screws.

6. A lock comprising a casing, a lock body mounted in said casing, a slide mov able in said body, a locking element operatively connected with said slide and adapted to be moved to releasing position by said slide when the latter is shifted in one direc- "tion, means for shifting said slide, pins adapted to extend through the slide for locking it in a fixed position, screws for operating said pins, supporting means for the pins and screws, means carried by the lower end of the slide for moving the latter, said means being adapted to cooperate with one of the supports for locking the slide against movement, and means for releasing said means for moving the slide after the pins have been moved to released position, thereby permitting of the shifting of the slide and the moving of the locking elementto releasing position, I

7. A lock comprising a casing, a lock body mounted in said casing, a slide movable in said body, a locking element operatively connected with said slide and adapted to be moved to releasing position by said slide when the latter is shifted in one direction, means for shifting said slide, pins adapted to extend through the slide for looking it in a fixed position, screws for operating said pins, supporting means for the pins and screws, means carried by the lower end of the slide for moving the latter, said means being adapted to cooperate with one of the supports for locking the slide against movement, means for releasing said means for moving the slide after the pins have been moved to released position, thereby permitting of the shifting of the slide and the moving of the locking element to releasing position, and means for limiting the shifting movement of the slide when moving the locking element to releasing position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

STEPHEN PETER.

Witnesses MAX H. SRoLovITz, K. H. BUTLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

